Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (1-0) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out eight over seven scoreless innings in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. He picked up his first win of the season. Wacha was terrific on Saturday, blanking the White Sox over seven frames. The 32-year-old threw 93 pitches, landing 59 for strikes. He owns a 2.25 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts over 12 innings in 2024. He is off to a hot start and will look to build on Saturday's performance in his next start Friday on the road against the New York Mets. Wacha can be used as a streamer and should be rostered in all leagues while he continues to pitch well in 2024.

Kansas City Royals left-handed reliever William Smith was brought in for the ninth inning on Friday night with the club holding a 2-1 lead over the visiting Chicago White Sox, but the veteran southpaw was pulled after allowing a hit and walking one in favor of James McArthur, who ended up picking up his first save. Smith did pick up a strikeout and the hold, but it's not a good sign that manager Matt Quatraro gave him the quick hook after he allowed a double and a walk after his strikeout. The 34-year-old wasn't a high-end fantasy baseball closer to begin with, but Smith might already be losing his hold on the closer gig in Kansas City after the first week. Smith already has allowed six earned runs in three innings with a blown save and two losses, so fantasy managers scrounging for saves in the early going should consider picking McArthur up off the waiver wire.

Texas Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen (neck) said that everything went well with his minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday and that he's ready to join the team's starting rotation for his 2024 debut. Lorenzen will throw a bullpen session in a few days before the team determines when/where his next outing will be. The 32-year-old got up to 70 pitches with Round Rock on Thursday and allowed just one run in four innings, so it would appear that he's close to being stretched out enough to join the big-league roster. Fantasy baseball managers in deep-mixed and AL-only leagues in need of pitching help may want to consider picking up Lorenzen now from the waiver wire. He threw a no-hitter with the Phillies in 2023, but there's not a ton of strikeout upside here.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur posted his first save of the season in Friday's 2-1 win over the division-rival Chicago White Sox, recording the final two outs of the game. After struggling incumbent closer Will Smith allowed a double and a walk to make things interesting, McArthur only needed two pitches to induce a double play and put out the ninth-inning fire. Although the save should get McArthur on most fantasy radars, he still has a poor 9.82 ERA and 1.91 WHIP with three punchouts in 3 2/3 frames to begin the year. Smith has been worse; the veteran holds an abysmal 18.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP with three K's over his three innings of work for the Royals in 2024. KC's closing situation looks like a fluid one that could witness a form of hot-hand or matchup-based approach until one arm or the other pulls away in the competition, but McArthur is worth a speculative add.

Kanas City Royals right-hander Brady Singer will look for his second straight excellent outing on Friday when he and the Royals play host to the Chicago White Sox. The 27-year-old dominated the Minnesota Twins in his first outing of the season, tossing seven scoreless innings with just three hits and one walk allowed while he stuck out 10 Twins on the day. It was certainly an encouraging start to the season for Singer who struggled to a 5.52 ERA in 29 starts last season, although his 4.29 FIP, 4.46 SIERA, and 7% BB% all suggest he wasn't as poor as his surface ERA indicates. A drop to an 18.9% K% was concerning, however, as Singer's mediocre 22.1% K% for his career puts a cap on his fantasy value.